We were singing the song, “Good, Good Father” the other night at church; when we sang the lyrics, “and I’m loved by You, that’s who I am” my heart jumped. What a statement of identity! I AM KNOWN AS ONE WHO IS LOVED BY GOD!

I’m very quick to admit my identity as a husband, father, grandfather, and Pastor… but how often do I offer up, “Oh, also I’m someone who God loves”?

It reeks of arrogance but it is actually a very true statement! How would it change the way I perceive, well… everything if I started to think like that? If God’s love for me personally was an identifying point of my psyche, how would I begin to behave differently, think differently, respond differently?

When I married my wife, Kim, I began to think as a married man. After our first child was born the reality of my new identity as “Father” began to set in. I think you get the picture.

I’m not basing this line of thinking off of a song, there’s actual scriptural reference to this concept.

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 NLT

What about you? Do you identify as a child of God? Does the fact that God identifies you as one of His children change you? In what ways might your status as “one who is loved by God” change the way you think or worship?

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 1 Peter 3:15 NLT

We should always be ready to explain why we believe, why we hope, why we rejoice. Barna Research stated “Only half (52%) of born again Christians say they actually did share the Gospel at least once this past year to someone with different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

Did you notice from the scripture above, “And if someone asks about your hope…” Consider what this is saying; you are living a life that communicates hope to people around you to such a degree that they are perplexed enough to come to you!

Our lives should be testimony, we should be bearing fruit which causes people to taste our hope, taste our joy, and desire to know from where did we procure such fruit!

How many times has someone NOTICED your hope, noticed your joy, and had the fortitude to come and ask you for an explanation? That number, that exact sum is the number of times that you have drawn people to Jesus simply by the way you live!

So what do we do in THAT moment? What do we say? What can we draw from?

I believe there are two basic things which we need in order to be able to share why we have hope:

Knowledge – so few people actually study the scriptures and subsequently have no idea what they really believe or how salvation has occurred in their life.

Experience – if you’ve had an actual encounter with God, your life is changed. If this is true of you, the experience of God is enough to fuel your ability to testify but if you couple it with the knowledge of scriptures your story will infused with the power of Holy Spirit and will be effective.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NKJV

I want to encourage you to read the book of Romans, understand what the terms justification and sanctification mean, begin a daily devotion time between you and God, a time meant for you to pray, read the Bible, and worship. It is in these daily times of honestly seeking after God’s presence, and reading His word that you will discover the tools necessary to “be ready to explain” your hope.

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. 1 Peter 3:15(a) NLT

Every single day you worship.

Maybe you aren’t worshipping God but you are worshipping something or someone.

Would you like proof?

At it’s core, worship is ascribing value or worth to someone or something. The old English word for worship is “worthship” which indicates that something has worth. I argue that everyday, whether it’s in the way you spend your money and/or your time, the way you talk up latest menu item at a restaurant, or the way you brag about yourself or someone else, you have just worshipped.

The verse above starts off by saying “instead”… instead of what?

14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

Worry and fear. These are two things of which we all are guilty.

Instead of worrying we MUST worship. We need to refocus our attention back to worship, giving value or worth to God, instead of sacrificing our time and hearts on the altar of worry.

You ARE a worshipper. So, as a worshipper I admonish you to quit giving your worship to that which doesn’t deserve it and return your worship to the only One WORTHY of your worship.

Positive Reinforcement

There’s no doubt that in most cases and most of the time, positive reinforcement works. We’ve used it on people and it has been used on us to achieve desirable outcomes. If you’re not familiar with how this works, consider our friend, the mouse to our left. Every time he presses the lever, he receives a reward, namely food. While we’re not mice, we have come to expect the same in our lives, not to mention how cheated we feel if we do not receive what we believe we deserve for compensation for performing well. The worker who works harder than the rest will soon become frustrated if she doesn’t receive some sort of recognition for hard work.

Wages and Gifts

But that’s the trouble, isn’t it? A worker is a hired laborer who deserves or has EARNED compensation for their work, therefore when the paycheck arrives, it isn’t a gift, rather it’s the worker’s wages.

The difference between wages and gifts is that wages are earned by work, gifts are given regardless of merit and often in spite of merit. They are things which are given not out of necessity but out of love.

I remember when I used to work for a diesel parts distribution warehouse. We had some really hard working men there, but we also had some men that literally did as little as possible each day. You know the kind; they called off as often as possible, didn’t respect anyone else. One year for Christmas the owner called us all together and handed out Christmas gifts; we received a turkey and a jacket.

If found it interesting that everyone received these gifts, EVERYONE. Even the workers who were lazy – it didn’t matter whether you earned it or not, whether you even cared or not that they were giving us gifts. At the end of the day, the company offered us all gifts.

Receiving the Gift

I remember how some of the men could have cared less that the company had offered us gifts; some of the workers even scoffed at it, thinking they deserved more! As I walked to my vehicle I turned to see my co-workers walking to their vehicles. So many of them didn’t receive the gift that was being offered.

That, however, is the nature of receiving a gift. You can either take it or leave it, but you can never deny that it was offered, nor can you determine that it was something that you earned. The gift given isn’t something you’ve earned or deserve, nor can you determine the motive for the gift; the only function you play in receiving a gift is either in refusing or accepting the gift.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Sincerely, I pray that if you haven’t received this gift of salvation that you consider holding out your hands to God and accepting it today. He is offering it to you. There are no amount of good deeds which will get you into Heaven, being a “good person” won’t do it, giving money to charities won’t do it, working in the homeless shelters won’t do it, nor will fighting for the rights of others… it’s only through Jesus.